Amnesia
by Laguna Lourie
Summary: What if a new character joined the team? And what if he hid a powerful secret... even from himself? First fan fic, please R&R! DISCONTINUED DUE TO LACK OF INTEREST FROM READERS! if you want me to continue, PM me.
1. Im where?

** I'm where?**

I gazed around in wonder as I walked through the streets of Alexandria. Soilders ran a tight watch at the gates leading in to the city, making sure no bandits or monsters came in to ruin the play. Vendors hawked their wares in loud voices, and children ran screaming in the streets. The day was cool, maybe low eighties, and barely a cloud in the sky. A cool breeze lifted my hair as I looked about me. I still couldn't believe that I was here! Or how I was here. All I remember is my name, and a bright flash of light. I knew some things, such as academic skills. And I was wearing a necklace. It was beaded, with a pendant of a wing in the center of the necklace. It also had six different colored jewels in the center of it. The beads were black and some were a dark purple color, and seemed to have their own inner light. It was warm to the touch, and gave me a sense of comfort. I didn't know anything else. I woke up in the middle of the town square by some old lady kicking me. When I got up, we figured out that I had amnesia. She told me the history of the town, about the mist continent, and a bunch of other things too. She gave me clothes to wear, too, since mine were ragged and dirty.

After making sure I was okay to make it on my own, she gave me a few potions, saying that I never knew when I would need them. Now, here I was. At six foot three, and well muscled, I made a pretty imposing figure, and the crowd parted before me. My dark brown hair waved in the wind, and my black, long sleeved shirt rustled. I looked to the ticket both in the middle of the market place and saw the play name everyone was so excited about. "I want to be your Canary", by Lord Avon. It didn't ring any bells, so I walked up and grabbed a pamphlet.

"A story of bitter love,and a tragedy of epic proportions! I Want To Be Your Canary is a must see!"

I scanned it over and grunted, putting it back. As I turned to leave, I heard a small voice cry out in anguish at the counter booth.

"There, there, don't cry! Here, take these cards and do try to cheer up now, hmm," said the ticket booth manager to a small child as he handed him some cards. The boy righted his crooked hat and thanked the man as he walked away. For some reason, I was drawn to him. I fast walked up to him as he headed towards an alleyway.

"Hey, what happened back there," I asked as I pulled up next to him. He flinched, then looked at me sadly.

"My ticket turned out to be a fake," he muttered dejectedly, handing me his ticket. Instead of the word "Canary", it said "Crow".

I handed the ticket back and said, "Sorry little guy. That's wrong, taking advantage of a little kid. It really pisses me off to hear crap like that!"

He looked up at me, and I took in what he looked like. He was short, with a crooked hat, blue jacket, and what looked like blue, striped pajama bottoms. However, his face and eyes really threw me off. Where there should have been a face, it was just black and shapeless. And his eyes!! They were two glowing circles that seemed to absorb you! I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't realize he was speaking.

"…Vivi, what's your name," he said, gazing up at me.

"I'm Seth," I said, smiling and offering my hand. He shook it and said, "Nice to meet-oof!"

A kid in a red outfit came barreling down the alley way and ran into him, knocking down Vivi. I helped him to his feet and turned to the kid.

"Watch where you're going, punk," he said, sneering.

I stared at him,partly in disbelief-after all, _he_ ran into _us_- and partly because the kid was a rat.

"My ticket," Vivi said as it was caught up in the wind. The rat-kid jumped into the air and grabbed onto it before it could sail away in the sky. He read it over, and chuckled.

"Kid, you got a fake ticket," he said, chortling. "Tell you what. If you help me, I'll let you see the show- for free!! All you two need to do is look out at the end of the alley areas and keep watch for anyone coming."

Without waiting for an answer, he ran to the center of the alley and said, "All clear?"

Me and Vivi said yes, and he pulled a ladder out from behind a pile of trash. He must have hidden it there earlier. I didn't even see it when me and Vivi came in!

"All right, let's go," he said, and led the way down the alley.

________________________________________________________________________

"Ha ha! It fell! At least you weren't on it," The rat kid, whose name was Puck, said as I jumped off the plyboard as it fell between the gap, and onto the castle wall. I looked down, and felt quesy at the fact that I almost fell about twenty feet.

"Well, come on! We'll miss the play," Puck said, turning and running along the wall. As Vivi and I followed, I looked out over the sprawling castle, with its inner court, jutting turrets, and the sword. And the sword!! The sun was setting, and reflected off the polished blade, making it switch from yellow to orange, and finally into a crimson red color. I brought myself out of my thought long enough to keep myself from tripping over Vivi as he crouched out of sight behind some chairs. I looked around, and saw a lot of nobles sitting in the audience, talking. An occasional laugh broke out among the crowd, and as I swept my gaze further forward, I saw a huge ship. In mid-air!

"Get down, you big moron," Puck said, tugging on my pantleg. I quickly dropped into a crouch, and looked at him and Vivi. Stunned, I said, "Guys, that ship is floating in mid-air!" They looked at me as if I had grown three heads. Puck snorted and said, "No shit, moron!"

Vivi looked up at me and said, "You never saw an airship before?"

My face red, I replied, "W-well, you see, I, uh, kinda have a memory…thing, going on." He looked at me, confused. Sighing, I said, "I have amnesia, and I don't remember anything but basic skills and my name." Vivis eyes widened, and said, "I'm sorry! I didn't know." Smiling at him, I said, "If it makes you feel any better, neither did I!" He chuckled, and turned around again. As I settled myself into my seat, a.k.a, the floor, I nearly jumped back up again as the air was filled with fire and smoke! Bright flashes, and loud roaring noises, the smell of smoke, and the taste of gunpowder in the air filled my senses as the play started off with a pre-show of fire works. Gazing in wonder, I sat down and watched as three figures emerged onto the stage from the smoke lingering in the air.

________________________________________________________________________

My head jerked up as Puck kicked me awake. Why does everyone do that?!

"Get up, ya idiots, the gaurds are coming," he said, panic creeping into his voice. We scrambled to our feet, and started to take off down the aisle as Vivi tripped. I turned to help him as Puck said, "Klutz! I'm outta here," and took off into the crowd. Me and Vivi started away again as a guard appeared in front of us! Panicking, Vivi set down a different aisle-and directly onto the stage! I took off after him, mumbling obscenities under my breath, and hopped over a body dressed in white as I came on stage. As I ran next to Vivi, he said in a desperate voice, "Leave me alone!" He thrust his hands out in front of him and fire spewed from his finger tips, accidentally igniting the person on the floor! With a yelp, she jumped up and threw off her cloak, which landed a few feet away, still on fire. I looked at her, and saw the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.(which, admittedly, is pretty easy when you have amnesia!) Her skin was a pure, milky white that shone in the light, with long, dark hair, and eyes that were sparkling like jewels in the reflected fire, which had spread onto the deck.

"Release the princess this instant," said a large man in rusty armor, hefting a large(and very threatening!) broadsword in his hands. The girl walked forward and said, "Steiner, leave me be!"

It took me a second to realize that this girl was a princess. What was her name? I had heard it around town a bit ! That was it! My thoughts were interrupted as two gaurds running up behind the big, armored guy, weapons drawn. I suddenly realized that, as people I didn't know-a blond haired teen with a tail, a dark, spiky haired guy with his eyes covered, and some guy with a bandana over his face-came next to me with weapons drawn, I was gonna get in a fight.

"Aw, shit," I muttered, and then a large resounding BOOM! Echoed through the air. I looked around, and saw what looked like a fire ball with a face join the ranks of the knights.

"Aww, double shit," I said to myself. Next thing I knew, steel was clashing against steel, and blood was on the floor of the ship! I grabbed the princess and pulled her away from the fight, and dashed back towards the battle. I didn't have a weapon, or any reason to fight-except one. My only friend was in there. Vivi. Although, he seemed to be doing a pretty good job, throwing flames around like some kind of pyro. Either way, I jumped in to cover his back. As I stood watching the knights fight the crew (maybe, I think they were the crew) A knight ran up and slashed at me. Although I jumped away, he caught my arm nonetheless, and I hissed in pain as I grabbed the wound. He chuckled, and went on the offensive again. This time, I ducked below the blade, and it sunk into the wood deck. Quickly, I kicked out with my legs, connected with his feet, and brought him down. I climbed to my feet, and pulled the sword out of the deck. I turned and saw him fleeing the battle, jumping into the crowd as they were trying to flee. I ran up beside Vivi, and saw that the rest were jumping over as well. The only one not running was the big rusty guy.

"So… did we win," I asked the kid next to me, the blond. He smiled at me and said, "Yea, I think we… Damnit!"

I turned, following his gaze, and saw cannons being brought fromm hidden places in the castle walls. Some fat lady was gesturing at the ship, and then muffled explosions and rattling could be heard. Harpoons came streaking out of the smoke, slamming into the deck! As the ship tried to pull away, it was anchored in place by the chains. I picked myself up off the floor, and shook my head to try and clear it. That harpoon would have impaled me if it was a foot closer! One foot! I saw the guy in rusty armor standing up again. Steiner? I think that's what the princess called him.

"Come on then! Lets see how bravely you fight when you rats can't run anywhere," he bellowed.

"Steiner look out behind you," the princess called out, fear in her voice. I looked to where she was pointing, and saw that the fire ball was three times as big as it was before! It smoked more than a chimneyy, and flashes of flame were lashing out of its body, causing scorch marks and flames to pop up everywhere. Steiner turned and fell backwards, desperately trying to crawl away.

"Nooooooooo!!"

The thing blew up, tearing a large hole in the ship and melting the chains from the harpoons. We were free! However, that wasn't the most direct thing in my mind right now. The hole that was caused by the explosion happened to be near enough me that when we jurked forward in freedom, I rolled into it! I was clawing at the wood floor boards under my hands and trying not to fall. Vivi grabbed my hand, but could only help hold me steady. I was too heavy for a little guy like him. Every time we hit a house in the town, we shook like a braying animal, loosening my hold further. My fingers felt as if they were on fire, and I was ready to let go when a gloved hand grabbed mine, and started pulling. I grabbed the board under my hand and pulled up, clambering onto the deck, breathing in the night air as it rushed past me. I turned and saw that my rescuer was the blond haired kid from before.

"Thanks," I said, wiping my ash streaked face with the back of my hand. He grinned and said, " No problem! You helped out in that fight, it's the least I can do. We're over the Evil Forest now, so we shouldn't have anymore mishaps."

" Why is it called the Evil For-ahh!"

The ship was gradually lowering as it sunk into the trees, and it was skimming the top of the woods! The ship was vibrating badly as we ran atop the trees.

"I think we should get away from the-" I started to say, when we dropped and hit a large tree! I felt my body lift into the air, saw the blond kid right next to me, and went spinning into the forest, blackness taking over.


	2. Why does it have to be evil?

**Why does it have to be evil?**

I woke up groggily, and looked around at my surroundings. I was sitting on a pile of leaves, in a dark and wet forest. Insects chirupped and buzzed, while birds hooted and cawed to each other. Moonlight filter through the branches and foliage, making it surprisingly bright at night. Grass grew as tall as my chest in some areas, and wild flowers gave off intoxicating scents.

"You're up," said a voice from behind me. I jumped to my feet and looked around to find the blond haired kid sitting on a stump watching me. "You were out cold when I came to, and were to heavy to carry around. So I gave you some potion and dragged you onto some leaves. How do you feel?"

I tested all my limbs, standing up and brushing myself off. I stretched my muscles, and cracked a few joints, but all in all, felt pretty good. Smiling in his direction, I said "I feel pretty good, actually. That's twice you've saved me now…" I broke off, throwing him a questioning look. After a moment, his eyes lit up and he said, "Oh! I'm Zidane. Zidane Tribal. Nice to meet ya." We shook hands and he jumped off the stump. He handed me a piece of wood, long and cylindical. I took it, confused. Sighing, he showed me the tip he made and said, "We are in the Evil Forest, you know. And you are weaponless."

I moaned and accepted the weapon. Evil? Why does it have to be evil?

"Is 'Evil' a nickname, or it's real name," I said, gesturing to the trees all around me. He smiled as he copied my gesture and said, "As real as my name is. By the way, what's yours," he asked as he started to walk off. I trotted after him, saying, "Seth." He walked off into the forest, only nodding as I answered his question , as he motioned me to be quiet and follow after him.

________________________________________________________________________

"Zidane, you're alright," greeted us as we walked upon the ruins of the ship. I read the words 'Prima vis-' on the side, but the rest was all burned away. Piles of junk were scattered around the outside of the ship, and the wood was smoldering, giving off the great smell of burning wood. I was sporting a bite mark on my leg from where something called a Fang bit me, but it scabbed over and stopped bleeding. I sat down on some boxes outside while Zidane walked into the ship with the guy with a bandana on his face. I leaned back, thinking of what had happened to me. Since I woke up in Alexandria, I only remembered what happened in the past few hours. The play, the fight, the explosion, and even the walk through the forest, which just happened, seemed hard to believe. I was lost in my thoughts as Zidanes hand clamped onto my shoulder, making me jump. I looked up and saw the look on his face. Something wasn't right.

"What's wrong," I asked him, concerned. He took a shaky breath and said, "Vivi and the Princess are missing." I felt the bottom of my stomach drop out beneath me. Vivi, gone? And the Princess as well?! I stood up and said, "We have to find them. Now!" Zidane looked at me and nodded.

"Wait right there! It is my sworn duty to protect the princess! I will go along and make sure you bandits don't cause anymore harm. Damned kidnappers! If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be in this mess! I'll have you hanged," Steiner bellowed at us as he clanked in our direction. Kidnappers? Bandits? Hanged? What the hell is he talking about?! I voiced my questions out loud to Zidane. The answer shocked me.

"Yeah, we're the infamous band of thieves, Tantalus. We were hired to kidnap the Princess," he said, grinning at the open expression of disbelief on my face.

"But-but- I th-thought that you-you were…" I trailed off, not beliving my ears. I was in with bandits! I lost my only friend, Vivi, and was stuck with an angry knight, a group of thieves, and, to top it all off, was stuck in a forest that is rumored to be evil! Can it get any worse? God, I wished I hadn't asked that last one.

________________________________________________________________________

"Help, get me out of this thing," Vivi said, kicking the cage like limbs surrounding him. As Zidane, Steiner and I were surrounding the plant , Vivi began casting fire on the creature. It let out a shriek, and whipped it's vine like limbs in a wide arc, knocking me down. I saw it lash out again, and, thanking God I switched my makeshift-spear in for a broadsword, brought it up to block. The vine hit the blade, severing it clean off. I climbed back onto my feet, watching Zidane flow through the creatures attacks and deliver blows from his daggers, pulling out cleanly and just out of range before striking again. Me and Steiner took up the job of shortening said vines, making his job a lot easier. As the creature was leaking fluid from its severed limbs,we all jumped in at once and began hacking away at the thing. It died in moments, letting out an otherworldly shriek, and then collapsed to the floor. As I helped Vivi get out of the creatures prison, Steiner sank to the floor, sweating freely. The misty Forest was quite humid, and all that heavy armor must be putting a toll on him. I watched Vivi flop down next to him, obviously just as exhausted as we were. Zidane and I were a few yards away, talking about the thing.

"Do think that was the master of this Forest," I asked, catching my breath. He shook his head, sweat dripping from the end of his hair.

"No way. That was a minion of something in the Forest. The Evil Forest has no master, but the creatures in here can become quite powerful, gaining territory, like warlords. That thing has a master, and I don't want to meet it. But if it took the Princess, like Vivi told us, then we might end up fighting it anyways," he said in a grim tone. He flipped the hair out of his eyes as we heard Vivi and Steiner cry out. Turning around, we saw the plant creature standing again. Before anyone could react, it spewed what looked like green gas at Steiner and Vivi. It then promptly keeled over and faded into nothing. As me and Zidane ran towards our companions, we saw the slump over and fall to the floor.

________________________________________________________________________

I was wringing my hands in worry as Blank came out of the room that Vivi was in, and gave me a thumbs up. I sighed, and my entire body relaxed, knowing he'd be all right.

"I gave him and Rusty some medicine that removes seeds from the body. The plants of this Forest infect living creatures with seeds, which kill the host as they grow. They'll be fine after some rest," he said as he walked past me into the other room. I got up and walked around the ships little lobby area that was left undestroyed. After a few minutes of walking around in a small circle, I began to worry about myself. Sighing, I began digging through the various piles of junk and debris in the room. It kept me busy for about ten minutes, and I actually got a few supplies. Some nice, leather gloves would help, if only a little. I also found some bottles and jars of stuff we might need. Also, I found a small knife I could use for close range fighting. Unfortunatley, I might end up doing just that sometime in my new life. As I slipped the knife (dagger?) on to my belt, I reflected on my life again. What was my life like before this? Was it exciting, or boring? Am I acting the same way I used to, or differently? How did I lose my memory? And what was with this damn necklace?! I felt like it was a key to who I am! I slipped it from around my neck and stared at the wing. As usual, it was warm. It was finely crafted, with six jewels in the middle. A ruby, an emerald, a saphire, a topaz, an opal, and a diamond. Tears of frustration welled up in my eyes as I thought it over. Damnit! This is too much. Maybe I was destined to travel with these people, to learn my past again. I rubbed my temples, a headache forming.

Just as I began wiping the tears from my face, I heard footsteps descending the stairs above me.

"Ya know the rules! If ya want out, ya gotta fight me," said a gruff voice, who I guessed belonged to Baku, leader of Tantalus.

"Yea, yea, anytime old man," Zidane replied as the appeared around the corner. He looked at me and smiled.

"Give me a few minutes to beat the crap out of this old geezer and then we'll go find the princess," he said, winking at me, following the bearded man through a door. They walked into the room as Blank came back out, in a hurry. As curses were thrown and steel connected, he groaned and shook his head. Wincing as a crash reverberated the floor under our feet, he threw the door closed and muted the sounds of the fight. He looked at me and said, "Damn it all!! I just finished organizing that room!"

I laughed and shook my head. He chuckled and walked up to me.

"Do me a favor and look after Zidane. He's strong, but he's also stupid. Unfortunately, more the latter. By the way, take this. It's the medicine I gave to the knight and the you find the princess, give it to her. Just to be safe."

As I took the offered bottle from his hands, I looked at him and asked a question that has been plaguing me since the moment I saw him.

"How do you see? You cover your eyes and all, so I was kinda curious."

He stared at me blankly (he he, bad pun!) and stuttered, "H-how do I… see?"

I nodded, head cocked to one side, ignoring the crashes coming to this room from the other one. He shook his head and growled, "Screw you, man! Mind your own damn bussiness," before stomping away into the ship.

"You did not just ask him about how he sees, did you," asked Zidane, making me jump. He walked up behind me and I didn't know it!

"Yea, how does he? And why did he get so pissed off," I asked him. Zidane sighed dramatically and said, "Blanks blind Jay. Something happened to him when he was little, an accident or something. Why do you think he covers his eyes?"

I looked at the room Blank walked into a minute ago and said, "But… how does he fight so well, he was amazing on the ship!"

Zidane shrugged and said, "Don't know, don't care, but he could probably kick my ass in a fight, so I'm impressed. Any way, let's get Rusty and Vivi and head out."

He groaned and clutched his stomach.

"Damn old fart! He pulled his punches until the end."

________________________________________________________________________

We walked past the spot where Vivi and Steiner got infected, and continued folloing the trail. Steiner clanked, waking up all the monsters in the surrounding area to attack us. It took us a full half hour until we reached a point Zidane said was halfway to where we most likely needed to go. A spring poured out fresh water and stumps were in various areas, allowing us someplace to sit and slake our thirst. The fighting had all of us sweating,and covered in blood. Mostly it was the enemies, but I had a cut above my right eye from where a goblin hit me with a rock. A rock! I sliced the damned thing to pieces, but it didn't take the indignity of the situation away at all. Zidane still snickered when he saw me blinking blood out of my eye to clear my vision. I washed the wound and my eye out with water from the spring, wincing in pain. Man that stings! I took a drank of water, sighing as I sipped at it while sitting on a stump. Did I sigh this much before I lost my memory? I don't know! I took a drag from my cup as I heard a wierd noise.

"K-kupo!"

I looked around and saw an animal hiding behind a bush. It was pink, with a purple nose, and what looked like a red puffball coming out of his head. Zidane got up and walked over to it.

"Check it out! A moogle! What are you doing here," he asked it, crouching down next to it. The moogle looked at him and said, "Getting ready to leave! Something very bad is about to happen here! I can sense it," he said, eyeing a gap in the leaves above us.

"You'd do well to leave too," it said as it flew off, and I noticed wings on its back, working quickly to fly as fast as he could. Zidane sighed and said, "It's right. We should get the Princess and get out."

We got up, Steiner rather noisily, and continued our trek through the woods.

________________________________________________________________________

"Okay guys. I think this is it. We haven't fought anything in the past ten minutes, and these woods are dead silent. If my guess is right, we'll find whatever took the Princess in that cave. And, hopefully the Princess as well," Zidane whispered to us as we started making our way down the slope toward the cave mouth. We stuck to the shadows, moving as silently as possible. However, Steiner was still clanking with every move. We entered the cave in a crouch. I looked around nd saw a huge had blood red leaves, and four vines sunk into the ground. The lower half of it was all roots. I looked past it and saw something that made my heart stop. The Princess was tied to the far wall, unconscious and looking paler than the moonlight sneaking it's way in through holes in the cave roof. I forced myself to calm down. Nothing was here, right? We crawl over, cut the Princess free, and ditch this freaky Forest. There was only one problem.

"PRINCESS!!!"

Steiner saw her too. With an earth shaking effort, the plant in front of us shuddered, and then ripped the vines out of the floor. It towered above us, looking down at the pathetic creatures that dared invade it's layer. It swept a huge vine arm into us, knocking all of us down except for Zidane, who jumped above it. He landed and charged forward, tearing the roots apart with his daggers. Vivi let loose torrents of flame upon the attacking vine, which rose into the air to strike again. I swung my broadsword at the nearest vine… and got it stuck. As I pulled and tugged at the blade, the thing lifted it's vines/arms, and I went flying against the wall. I sat there dazed, trying to bring things back into focus. I saw a flash of gray, heard an unearthly shreik, and saw Steiner standing in front of me, blade on fire, with the tip of the vine on the floor in front of him.

"Master Vivi, the idea worked wonderously," he yelled to Vivi, who nodded in reply. He turned his eye on me and said, "You won't be lucky next time, knave!" And ran off again, slashing at the creature. I unsheathed the dagger at my belt, and ran over to where Zidane was, still hacking at the things roots. I took place next to him and began adding my efforts. The blade was sharp, but these roots were tough! Zidane and I only cut about three inches into the roots before the thing hit us with a vine arm. We sailed through the air and landed in a jumbled pile on the floor. Then I noticed that there were three of us in the pile.

"Get off me," Blank yelled. He rolled out from underneath us and climbed to his feet, deftly slicing vines and dodging attacks. Panting, he said, "The boss told me to come help you guys out. I got a map of the Mist Continent, so getting to Linblum won't be a problem."

The three of us fought back to back, dodging, pushing each other out of the way of attacks, and all in all trying to survive. We attacked like we were possessed, determined to live another day. I suppose that I could take credit for what happened next, although I'm not too proud about it. I was supposed to be guarding Blanks left flank when I saw Vivi go down. I didn't give any warning, just left to help Vivi back up. This left a perfect spot for the Master Plant to hit Blank. He flew through the air and groaned as he hit the floor. Then, something happened. Zidane began pulsing with a pinkish, purplish light. He flared really bright, causing me to wince. When I looked back, energy was pouring from his body, tearing the plant beast to shreds. Before I could figure out what happened, we were alone in the cave, and Steiner was crying over Garnetts body.

"Princess, I failed you," he cried. I looked at Zidane, and saw he was back to normal. I looked to see Blank leaning on his arm, winded, but other wise okay. He turned to me and said, "Yo, Seth." I winced, expecting to be reprimanded. "Throw me that medicine I gave you." I breathed out a held breath and pulled the bottle out of my pocket. I tossed it to him, and he gave it to the Princess. She coughed and trembled, but stayed unconscious. Vivi looked at Zidane and said, "Umm… What was that?"

Zidane looked at him, and said, "I don't know. I just got really pissed about the damn thing not dying, and suddenly was filled with power."

Steiner picked up Garnett in his arms and said quietly, "It's called Trance. It's brought on by a huge surge of emotion. As you can see, it makes one quite powerful. I've read about it in books before, but never actually seen it."

Suddenly, we heard a loud squeeking noise and were surrounded by what looked like smaller plant creatures. They had red flowers for heads and four limbs. They chattered to each other and charged us.

"Run," Zidane yelled, taking off into the Forest. We blindly followed him, trusting him to lead us to safety. I looked ahead of me and saw Zidane and Blank talking, standing still and staring at the creatures behind us.

"Run you idiots," I screamed,running closer to them. As I passed them by, I heard Zidane say, "Somethings wrong. The entire forest is coming after us. Blank, take care of everyone." As we jumped over fallen logs and tripped over rocks, we heard the chattering noise increase in volume. I turned around and saw hundreds of the things chasing us! I ran faster, putting all my remaining energy into getting my legs to move. Surprisingly enough, Zidane was being left behind. What with Rusty carrying the princess, Vivi having short legs, and me and Blank being dead tired, I thought he would be in the lead. Then I saw him slow down even more, and it hit me. He was going to distract them! Fight them off and buy us extra time! Blank realized this as well, and dropped back to Zidane. I cried out in horror as I saw one of the things break ahead of the pack, and reach for Zidane! His eyes widened, and he ran faster, but it was gaining… and just as the thing lunged forward, Blank knocked Zidane out of the way. He jumped up, and turned around, screaming Blanks name. But I already knew it was too late. The creatures were falling to the floor all around him, stone. The Forest was being petrified in an attempt to stop us! Blank grabbed something from his pocket, and threw it as hard as he could, still trying to break free of the things grip.. When I saw Zidane running again, I turned around and began running as fast as I could. He caught up to me and pointed ahead of us. I noticed a roll of parchment in his hands, and remembered what Blank had said earlier. A map!

I looked at where Zidane was pointing ahead of us. Light! An exit! Then, just as we were getting close, thorned vines snaked their way through the trees, jabbing and slicing at us, and all the while the green turned gray as the forest turned to stone. I felt renewed energy at the prospect of escape so near. I didn't notice the glowing image of a wing through my shirt, and didn't feel the hot metal I focused on this obstacle as I jumped and dived, ducked and weaved through this last attempt to destroy us, and we could hear the rest of our party calling to us. We dived out of the forest as the vines wrapped themselves around the trees, blocking the forest in an unbreakable fortress of stone. Panting I looked up at the stone trees, and smiled in Zidanes direction. We made it! But, when I saw the tears running down his face, my heart stopped as I remembered Blank. I gazed past the forest, and saw a statue of a beloved hero, saving his friends life. And that of a strangers. I grasped my amulet in my hand and felt tears run down my face, the metal cold for once.


	3. Out of the frying pan, into the fire

**Out of the frying pan, into the fire.**

_Pain, searing my flesh. I cry out, wanting it to end. The pain ends, leaving a lingering memory of a gruff, dark voice with it. Silence. Then a new voice, sweet and loving, calling my name. _

"_Seth."_

_So comforting. It almost sounds like…_

"Seth? We have to get going. The Ice Cavern is a bit of a walk."

Garnett. I rolled over and pushed myself into a sitting position. Rubbing my hair, I yawned and crawled out of the tent me and Steiner shared. God that man snored! I bitterly noticed that he was still asleep as I stood up and stretched. The clouds opened up a enough to let a renegade beam of sunlight hit me in the eyes.

Wincing, I yawned again and said, "How far is the Ice Cavern?" I took in the early morning view of our campsite. We camped just outside of the Evil Forest. Steiner protested avidly, but we camped here anyways.

"Zidane says about two hours away. He says we should get going early because he doesn't know how big it is," Princess Garnett said, smiling at me. Suddenly, the day seemed a little better, and the sunlight wasn't all that bad anymore.

"Where is he," I said, looking around. Garnett pointed and I saw him staring at the entrance to the Forest. Sighing, I cracked my joints and began to kick Steiner through the tent. He jerked up, saying, "Beatrix!! I'll have your head for this! That was my pastry!!"

I rolled on the floor laughing as he came out of the tent, red faced and very pissed off. He looked daggers at me and roared, "Silence! I will not have you disrespecting me in such a manner!"

"If he pays you back in pastries, will you forgive him," Zidane said walking up and grinning. Even Garnett chuckled at that, her laugh sounding like silver bells. Steiner whipped around to grab him by the neck, but Zidane was behind him again, saluting his back.

"Why you-" Steiner yelled, and tackled Zidane to the ground. I watched them roll on the floor, worried that Steiners armor might crush Zidane. Thankfully, Garnett said, "Steiner! Cease this foolish behavior at once."

Jumping to his feet, Steiner instantly obeyed the order. Casting one more angry look at Zidane, he stalked off to roll up the tent. Zidane climbed to his feet and tossed a bag to me, smiling . I caught it and felt coins inside the purse. Steiners purse! He walked away after giving me a knowing wink and began to wake Vivi up. I tucked the bag into my pocket and smiled to myself. Man, this was gonna be a fun trip down memory lane!

I walked over to my stuff and put it on, not taking very long. I slipped my dagger onto my belt, and stuck a few potions in my pockets. I slipped my necklace on, then went to help Rusty put the tent back in the back pack he was carrying. I walked to our campfire from the night before and kicked dirt over the embers before I remembered that it posed no danger of a fire to a stone forest. I walked over to wear Vivi was rolling up the bedroll he used and sat down next to him.

"Vivi?"

He looked up at me, and said, "What?"

"Well, back on the theater ship, and in the forest, you used magic to defend yourself." He nodded. "Well, I was kinda wondering how you did it. Do you learn it, or is it an innate ability?"

He started to reply when Zidane called everyone over and started leaving the campsite. We trailed near the end, talking. He continued, saying, "Well, it's kinda a little bit of both. You see, there are select people who have the skill, like Black, Red, and White Mages. We each have our own different set of abilities we are good at. Black Mages, like me, are good at offense. We control the elements, and can do status effects, like poison and freeze. I'm not very high level, so I can do fire for now. White Mages are healers, and can do status effects like blind, sleep, and silent. Not offensive, but still effective. Red Mages can do both, but not as well as we can do our own abilities."

I breathed out in awe, amazed at how much was required of the Mage and what was needed, what with skill and time invesment. But… "You said that it's innate and you can learn it. How?"

Eyes shining brightly, I realized that he wasn't used to having people being impressed by him. Taking a breath, he said, "In order to use the magic, you have to have the innate ability. You learn these abilities from items crafted from Smiths. The better the artist, the better the item, the better the magic. However, that also means a high price. Why did you want to know?"

Blushing, I mumbled under my breath a bit before muttering, "I was wondering if I could use the magic. I'm not all that great at close combat, and I thought it might be more me, you know?"

With his head cocked to the side, he dropped his pack on the floor and rummaged through it. He pulled out a old hat, and handed it to me. I arched an eyebrow, and he said, "The leather hat is one of the most simplistic pieces of armor there is, but it houses the Fire spell. Try it out."

I eagerly put the hat on my head as Vivi said, "Now imagine a flame burning in the center of your chest. Imagine it growing larger and larger, spreading to all the limbs of your body. Now focus it into the palm of your hand, and point into the air. If all goes well, then you should let loose a small amount of flame into the air."

Nodding, I did as I was told. I imagined the flame, small as a candle, and watched it grow larger and larger. I felt warmth radiate through my body, and was filled with power! Without being bidden, I let loose a laugh of pure exhiliration. This feeling was amazing! I pointed to the sky, expecting to see a small trickle of flame compared to Vivis torrent of fire.

Nothing. The power was flowing through my body, and while it felt amazing, I was worried. Why wasn't anything happening? I lowered my hand and sighed. As I did, sparks came out with my breath, resting on the damp ground with a sizzle. Vivi looked at me and said, "That was at least something. I've heard of people who can't do anything, so the sparks are a okay start. We'll train, and you'll get better. I promise."

I nodded, and took the hat off my head. Even after I handed him the hat back, I still felt the power of it coursing through my veins. I didn't tell him about it. When I got back to the group, Garnett said I looked a little flushed. I told her it was nothing. I was wrong.

________________________________________________________________________

"Steiner, kill that thing before it circles around us," Zidane yelled, motioning to the Python that snaked it's way out of the bushes while we were distracted by it's friends. Steiner let loose a battle cry and charged towards the serpent, sword raised to chop the beast in half. It reared back, hissed, and struck at Steiner. Lucky for the knight, it broke it's fangs on his rusty armor. Severing it with one swipe, I watched in awe as he cleaned his blade off in the grass and charge into battle without missing a beat. He was a blowhard and annoying as all hell, but that man was a knight if I ever saw one! Garnett, Vivi, and I all stayed away from the main fight. We were supposed to protect the Princess, and seeing as how I was only equipped with a dagger, I didn't argue. After a few more minutes, and a lot more bloodshed, Zidane and Steiner came over to where we were, dripping sweat. After chugging half a canteeen of water each, Zidane grinned and said, "Well, that was fun! Let's get going, huh? That hill peak over there, the one disappearing in the mist, is the top of the Ice Cavern."

While the others looked at where he was pointing, I fanned myself with my hand, still feeling hot from my Fire spell fiasco. Sighing, I heard a rustling off to my left, and turned in time to see a purple and white creature come launching out of the bushes at me. We rolled on the floor, the rest of the group turning to see what was happening. I heard Zidane say, "Shit, a Mu," before I was stabbing wildly at the beast on top of me. It shrieked and bit into my hand, causing me to drop my dagger. I threw the thing off, and managed to get to my knees before it struck again, knocking us both down a ditch that was covered in thorny brambles. I cried out in pain as I saw my friends ten feet above me, helplessly looking down. I felt the things teeth rip into my arm, and felt the blood flow over my skin.

Hot. Just like the feeling in my veins, which was growing steadily stronger. Just like the flames that were released as I grabbed the Mu and punched it in the face with my free hand. Exactly like the sporadic fires left over from the massive explosion that sent me flying out of the ditch and _over_ my friends heads. I climbed to my feet, and staggered over to the ditch, everyone trying to help me as I shakily walked to the edge and saw the five foot crater where my battle was fought. I took a ragged breath, and said to Vivi, "I think I have the power _and _the item." I held up my necklace. The ruby was pulsing.

________________________________________________________________________

We came up on the entrance to the Ice Cavern, me still picking thorns out of my flesh. Garnett gasped when she saw the Ice Cavern. I looked around me, then self consciously at my feet as they left puddles where I walked. I still felt the power in my body, and was frightened of what I could do without meaning it. During that fight, I didn't plan it. It exploded like an angry beast. I just happened to be the cage, while the Mu was the key. As I began to enter the Ice cavern, I leaned next to Vivi and said, "Vivi, we're gonna need to work on this." He nodded, and we walked into the Cavern, our breath visible in front of our faces.


	4. Ice Cavern of Memories

**Ice Cavern of Memories**

"I'm going to assume that this is the place," Zidane said, wide eyed. I looked around in amazement at the beauty that the cavern held. The ledges, the plants, everything, was covered in a layer of ice! The flowers looked like they were carved from pure diamond, and the icicles seemed as though they were ready to fall in a shower of jewels.

"My grandpa told me about this place before. He said that it was a huge cavern covered in ice that could take you to the top of the mist," Vivi said quietly, looking around. Steiner flashed a smile in his direction, saying in a jovial tone, "Bravo! Master Vivi's grandfather must be quite the scholar! We must be sure to thank him upon our escape from the mist."

Vivi's shoulders slumped, and he looked at the ground. "My grandpa used to tell me lots of things… but he passed away." Steiners face fell so fast I could laughed if not for Vivis somber tone. Clearing his throat, Steiner said, "Please forgive my indiscretion.

Adjusting his hat, Vivi merely shook his head and said, "That's all right. You didn't know. Besides, I'm okay with it." Then he went off to look at a flower with the Princess. I sighed (my trademark at this point) and a huge cloud of heated air obscured my vision for a second. Gods, all this power! Even with the massive explosion, I still have so much fire magic left over inside me.

Being careful to not sigh, I walked over to Zidane and asked, "How big is this place?" Despite my precautions of breathing lightly, the air was still obscured for a few moments. Zidane waved the mist away with his hand and said, "Well, if his grandpas right," he jerked his head in Vivis direction, "Then maybe an hour to find the exit. The top of the Mist is a good few hundred feet up, and we don't know the layout of this place. Besides, monsters are sure to be living in a place like this."

Out of reflex, I sighed and and knocked out all of the surrounding view in a cloud of mist.

"Could you not do that," Zidane said irritably. His tail twitched, and I muttered my apologies, walking out of the dissipating cloud, kicking at ice on the floor. Soon enough, we started our way deeper into the cavern. The ice made everything seem ethereal and dreamlike. At several points, the ice was so thin that it melted away beneath my feet. Once this happened when we were walking over an ice-bridge in midair! Thankfully, Zidane saw what was happening. He pushed Steiner and the princess off the bridge to a ledge down lower. Then he picked up Vivi and threw him over the edge. He almost slid off the other ledge, but scrambled up right before Zidane landed on him. I was very confused about what was going on until I felt the floor beneath me jerk and heard it crack. The ice fell away beneath me as I let out a cry of alarm. Thankfully, Steiner reacted in time to grab me out of the air. After unceremoniously dumping me on the floor, we continued on our way. After that, I stayed in the back. It's actually a good thing, too. We got into a lot of fights, and I'm virtually weaponless. I was tempted to go to the frontlines and see what would happen with the magic, but decided that after the last incident, I didn't want to bring the roof down on top of us. We came upon a lot of treasure chests along the way, and I questioned Zidane about it.

"Well, a lot of monsters are a lot smarter that they appear. They recognize when something could be potentially valuable," he said as he pried open a chest with his dagger and pulled out a few potions.

"However," he continued, "Sometimes, a monsters stupidity really shows itself," he said, holding up a dead rat he found under the potions.

"Maybe it was hungry, and saved something for later," I said, smiling. Zidane laughed and threw the rat at Steiner, who spun around and looked for the enemy, sword in hand. He scowled at us, and we looked away innocently.

"Damned monkey!"

________________________________________________________________________

We had been traveling the cavern for two hours when it happened. The air gradually started turning colder, and the wind began to pick up. Everyone began to shake, and gather around me, trying to get as much warmth as possible. As we continued, even I began to shake, and started to wonder what the hell was going on. I looked around and saw that Vivi wasn't with us. Glancing behind us, I saw him a yard away, walking at a snails pace.

"Vivi, you're gonna be left behind," Zidane called out to him. He shook his head and looked up, squinting. Faintly, he called out, "I'm… I'm coming." We turned around and went three steps before Garnett cried out. Spinning around, I saw Vivis hat drop out of view and I ran over to the spot I had seen it last. I leaned over a ledge I didn't even now was there and saw, much to my relief, that he had only fallen about seven feet.

"Vivi, get up," I said, watching for any sign of movement. Steiner rushed over to my side and yelled down, "Master Vivi!" He began to turn around when he suddenly pitched backwards, and fell with a floor shuddering crunch next to Vivi. Zidane walked up to my side and said, "Rusty! You're…not okay, are you? What happened to you guys?" With concern mirrored on his face, he leaped down next to them. Kicking Steiner gently, he said, "Hey, Rusty! Move it or lose it!" He kicked him harder, with no result. Behind me, I heard a muffled thump. Turning, I see the princess in the snow, sleeping. Starting towards her, I stumble, falling to my knees.

"Damn it," I mutter, trying to hold on to consciousness. As my face hits the cold snow, I hear Zidane say, "Garnett, Seth! Not you guys too!"

________________________________________________________________________

"_Leave him be. Do not touch my experiments," the gruff voice of my dreams says._

"_But look at him. He's crying! How could you do that to him," answered an indignant female voice. _

'_Who are they talking about?' I could hear things, but I couldn't see. I could feel things, but it was more like I could only feel emotions. My emotions. Like my desperation and fear, each trying to win a contest to smother me, and the feeling of hope dwindling away._

"_At the very least feed him more often! He's skin and bones for Gods sakes," said the female. A crash reverberated through my body, and I heard a scream._

"_Do not tell me what to do! You were in the same position once, and you are damned lucky I allowed you to live," The gruff voice hissed. "Now get out of my sight! Your weakness sickens me!"_

_With a muffled sob, I hear footsteps and the opening and closing of a door. Heavier footsteps get louder as the voice says, "They are the exact reason you are being made. They are too emotional. But you… you will be emotionless. You will be powerful. You will be ruthless. You…will be the perfect tool."_

_Again, the burning sensation, flames ripping across my flesh, and ice freezing my veins! My heart stops, only to be jerked back to life, refusing it that which it cries out for. Give me death!_

__________________________________________________________________________

My eyes snapped open, looking around wildly. My breath comes in quick, short bursts, making me light headed as I struggle through the snow to my feet. The others are waking up as well, and Vivi notices me first.

"Seth? Are you alri-" he started to say as I cut him off with a look of pure hatred. Escape! Get out of this hell! I didn't recognize these people! I didn't recognize this place! All I knew was that my last emotion was of terror. Get out!

I ran a few yards before Zidane tackled me to the floor, struggling to get me into a hold. "What the hell has gotten into you-oof," he broke off with a grunt as my boot caught him in the stomach. He groaned and let go. I ran to the exit, not knowing where it went, not caring, knowing it meant getting out of here. Before I made it six feet, strong, metal encased arms wrapped around me and lifted me from the ground, arms pinned at my sides. I kicked, panicking, screaming, "Let me go! I'm not a tool! Let me the fuck go right now! Demon! I'll kill you, I swear I will!"

"Control yourself," Steiner said, wrapping his arms around me tighter. Garnett came up and said, "Hold him."She approached me, the demons assistant, her palms closed around a ball of glowing white mana. She put her hands against my forehead, and muttered words I couldn't hear. Refused to hear. The magic! They were doing it again! I screamed in apprehension, expecting the fire to burn my flesh away.

But instead of flames and pain, a cool sensation flooded my body, and I felt calm. Restored. Steiner released me and I fell to the floor. I stood up shakily, and, without warning, leaned over and vomited. When my stomach was empty, I stood, wiped my mouth, and looked at my friends.

"I'm… I'm sorry," I croaked. Tears filled my eyes, and I brushed at them. Zidane opened his mouth, but I cut him off, saying "I don't wanna talk about it."

Without another word, we started walking. After several minutes of uncomfortable silence, Vivi asked, "What happened?"

Zidane said, "There was this guy who was causing the blizzard. He was called Black Waltz No. 1, or something. Long story short, I kicked his butt and saved the day," he said with a grin. But his face darkened, and said, "After I killed him, I heard two voices. They said something about there being a No.2 and No.3." After taking a deep breath, he looked Garnett in the eye and said, "He was here to bring you back to the castle. And the voices told me that the others were coming to succeed where he had failed."

He fell silent as we walked out of the cave and into the sunlight. Vivi jumped into the air in excitement and cried, "Yay! We're out of the cavern and the mist." I looked up at this statement and looked around. The surrounding area could be seen clearly, and not a bit of mist was around. Garnett smiled and said, "It's so warm!"

I looked around and saw some stretching plains, a group of woods, and, off in the distance…

"Zidane, check it out. A windmill," I say softly. He looks around and squints against the sun. Garnett looks over and says, "That means there must be a village over there! Let us hurry!" She started down the cliff when Zidane stepped in front of her.

"Hold on! You're a princess! People are looking for you. You can't just go barging in there, you know," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. A loud CLANK and a flash of gray, and Steiner had practically knocked Zidane over the edge. His daggers fell from his belt, and he wind milled his arms in an effort to get balance. I ran up and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him to safety. Sweat running down his face, he turned and yelled at Steiner.

"Damnit Rusty! The hell was that for?!"

"Don't touch the princess, you thieving peasant!!"

Garnett stepped between them, holding Zidanes daggers. Holding up her hands, she said, "Enough! No more fighting! I'm going to Lindblum, and you all need to stop quarreling like old ladies if you are to accompany me on the journey." She turned to face Zidane.

"What is this blade called," she asked, handing him the dagger.

"That's a dagger. Longer ones are called short-swords. Ones you hold with two hands are broadswords, and-" he said, but Garnett cut him off, saying, "Thank you, that is enough. So this is a dagger."

She stared off into space for a few seconds, and then said, "I have decided. My new alias will be Dagger."

Zidane smiled, and said, "That's great Dagger! But we need to work on your speech. You know, make it more casual."

She cocked her head to the side, and said, "I will try."

Shaking his head, Zidane said, "No, no, no! All wrong. Try saying…" He broke off and looked around, his eyes finally resting on Vivi. Smiling, he said, "Try saying 'alrighty!'"

Dagger said uncertainly, "A-alrighty!"

Zidane clapped and said, "Perfect! Now come on! We have to get to that village!" With those words, we started down the cliffs into the fields below.


	5. Cold Blooded

**Cold Blooded**

"Yo, Seth, move it or lose it! We need to get to Lindblum, remember?"

I groaned and put the pillow over my face. Damn it, the worst part of sleeping is waking up! With a characteristic sigh, I sit up and scratch my hair with one hand while sweeping the other blindly on the floor for my pants. Finding them, I look around to make sure Garnett-no, Dagger, I have to start calling her Dagger- wasn't around, and climbed out of bed to slip them on. As I pulled my shirt on, I reflected on the night. Why? Because it was peaceful! Thank God, no nightmare last night. But why did I have them before and not now? Maybe-

"Can you move any slower, man? We have to find a quick way to Lindblum, and I sure as hell ain't walking," Zidane said, pulling on his boots. After slipping my necklace on, I followed suit and pulled mine out from under the inns bed I was sleeping in. Smiling, I said, "Shut up! Like you never have a slow morning! Anyway, how do we get to Lindblum?"

He stood up, slipped his daggers onto his belt, and said, with a cheerful grin, "No frickin clue! But something will come to me, don't you worry." With that, he walked out of the room, humming quietly to himself. I sighed and slipped on my shirt. As I was buttoning it, I walked past the inns mirror and stopped. Bright, inquisitive blue eyes stared back at me from a handsome, albeit slightly rough looking, face. My brown hair hung in front of my eyes, and I brushed it away. Then I noticed that I actually looked like shit. My hair was caked in mud and grass, and I had dried blood on my forehead. My shirt was ripped open on one side, revealing my chest and something else that made my heart stop momentarily. With trembling hands, I slowly unbuttoned my shirt and dropped it to the floor, staring at my reflection. My torso was a canvas, and some demented artist decorated it with scars and burn marks so plentifully, I could see maybe ten percent of normal skin. I ran my hands over the twisted and rough flesh, shivering despite the warm weather. My nightmares flooded back to me. The burning pain and the feeling of terror and helplessness! My head swam, and I dropped to my knees as I heard the door open. Though my vision was blurred, I saw Dagger walk in and look around the room. Thanking God that there was a bed between us, I struggled into my shirt as fast as I could. I stood up after I buttoned it, and she jumped back in surprise. Her hand over her heart, she smiled and said, "You startled me! I came looking for you. Have you seen Vivi? He went into the village and-are you okay? You look pale."

I shrugged off her concern and smiled, saying "A pretty girl like you walking in on a guy getting dressed is enough to make anyone nervous!" As she blushed, I wondered if I had gone too far. After a moment of embarrassed silence, I said, "So what about Vivi?" Shaking her head, she looked up and, looking away from my eyes, said "He went off into the village, and now I can't find him. I'm worried." My eyebrows furrowed together, and I said, "I don't think we need to worry. He may be little, but his magic packs a powerful punch. Besides, I'm sure you just weren't looking hard enough."

Hands on her hips, she shook her hair out of her eyes and said in an indignant tone, "Well, if you don't think I was looking hard enough, don't complain when Vivi shows up missing!"

"M-missing? I'm right here, Dagger! How can I be missing," Vivi said, walking in the door. I saw Dagger turn pink as she looked at Vivis inquisitive eyes and my blue ones, which were the only thing betraying my amusement as I held a straight face. Gesturing at Vivi, I said in a very indignant tone, "And don't complain to me when you have to insert your foot into your mouth."

My timing sucks.

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO THE PRINCESS THAT WAY YOU PEASANT!!!"

Wincing, I turned to the door and saw Steiner staring at me with murder in his eyes. His hands were clenched together so hard I thought he would leave dents in his armor, and I noted, with some concern, that his right hand was drawing ever closer to his huge broadsword.

Smiling weakly, I raised my hands up in defense and said, "Calm down there! I meant no offense. I was playing around, that's all! Settle down and we can talk this out. Come on, what do you say, Rusty?"

Instantly, Daggers mouth dropped open in horror, and I heard a faint squeak come from Vivi. I closed my eyes and muttered, "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

Steiner was beet red, and his sword was in his hand. He sputtered in rage as he said, "RUSTY?! I WILL CLEAVE YOUR HEAD FROM YOUR SHOULDERS FOR YOUR IMPOTENCE!!"

He charged forward and swung wildly, allowing me to duck under his blade. I bolted across the room and grabbed Vivi by the back of the collar, dragging him through the air with me. I banged open the door to the inn, and sped down the street, Steiner yelling curses and threats as we began to pull away. After another minute of running, I stopped and took a break, gasping for breath. I looked around and saw that I brought me and Vivi to a desolate patch of dirt outside of the village. Vivi struggled about in my grasp and I let him go, vaguely motioning with my hands what I hoped was sorry. Looking around, he said, "This place is even better than the one I found!"

I threw him a questioning glance, and he said, "I went out looking for a place for us to practice your magic, but this place is better. We can do a lot more, and with less danger to starting fires or anything since it's all dirt."

Nodding in understanding, I took my necklace out from my shirt and looked it over. The jewels glinted brightly in the early morning sunlight.

"Hey Vivi, if the ruby was flame magic, do the other jewels have different elements?" He walked over to me, and I squatted down so he could see. He took the pendant in his hands and studied it. He nodded and said, "Yea, I think so. Let's try it out!"

He walked to the other end of the dirt patch, about ten feet away, and said, "You remember what I said about the fire magic? To imagine the flame inside you, and letting it grow? Imagine a speck of snow, and having it scour your insides, creating an ever growing blizzard. Then try to release it."

I closed my eyes and did as I was instructed. I imagined a tiny snowflake twirling around my heart. It swelled and multiplied, growing larger and larger, and I felt my body temperature drop. The ground around my feet grew a light layer of frost, then snow, and finally froze solid beneath my boots. My skin paled, and my breath misted in the air, reminding me absurdly of the ice cavern.

"I can't get away from this misty breath shit, can I," I asked Vivi, laughing. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Now try to release it!"

I pointed to the trees off to my right, and willed them to freeze. I felt the magic course through my arm, reach my hand… and stop. I stared at my hand in bewilderment. I was holding pure mana in my hand, the same rich, blue color of the sapphire in my necklace.

I saw a flash of light, and glanced down to where my necklace was glowing through the fabric of my shirt. The sapphire in my pendant, much like my ruby previously, was flashing, a beacon of glowing light.

Vivi nodded and said, "That's what I thought. You see, I believe that each gem you have in your necklace is meant to represent a different element. The ruby is fire, the sapphire is ice. More than likely, the emerald is either earth or wind, and the topaz is thunder. The onyx might represent darkness, and the diamond, without a doubt, represents light."

My head swam as I absorbed this new information. Staring at him, I said, "So pretty much, you are telling me that I'm a red mage?"

He nodded in response to my question. I looked at the ball of glowing energy in my hand and said, "Err… what the hell do I do with this?"

Much to my dismay, Vivi merely shrugged and said, "Beats me. My magic just needs to be released, and it takes a form of its own."

Cursing, I stared at the ball of mana. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I felt a small prick. Then, a spreading warmth of understanding as something in my memories clicked, and unlocked. Slowly, I extended my hand and watched as the energy flattened in my hand, and slowly moved over it. It molded to my hand, and became a light blue layer of ice. The ice gradually moved over to the tips of my fingers, and extended into icicles an inch thick, each one resting at the tips of my fingers.

"How in the world… I have never seen anyone do that," Vivi exclaimed in amazement behind me. I turned to him, the icicles spinning at the tips of my fingers, and said, "I don't know how, but I can control it and shape it to my will. Watch!"

I brought my hand closer to me and curved my fingers, imitating claws. Instantly, the ice obeyed my thoughts, forming over my hand to create imitation claws. As Vivi applauded, I walked over to a tree and brought the "claws" across the trunk in a sweeping motion. Five deep gouge marks were left in the tree's trunk, a small layer of ice surrounding the grooves. Smiling to myself, I pointed my hands at a different tree, and willed the ice to become icicles once again. Concentrating, I shot them into the tree and watched as they slowly melted.

_No, they spread!_

They spread outwards from the original impact spot, and froze the tree all around the middle section of the trunk! The sun reflected off the ice in the sunlight, shining like freshly cut diamonds. I stared in awe alongside Vivi at my newly discovered ability. With but a mere thought, I again summoned the energy to my hands, and layered each one in ice. I sought out something to test my newfound powers on. Without a word, I walked into the surrounding woods, allowing myself to be enveloped in the leafy undergrowth that froze in my wake. I climbed into a tree and perched in the topmost branches, and hauled Vivi up after me. Silently, we waited in the tree for something to walk by. Silently, that is, until Vivi fell out of the tree when he saw a mu come into view.

The beast immediately put its nose into the air, sniffing in the direction of Vivis crash. It ran headlong towards the tree I was hiding in. When the mu came crashing through the bushes dead ahead of Vivi, he panicked and yelped, scrambling back up the tree. The mu snarled and drew its lips back, revealing sharp, yellow teeth. It charged and dug its claws into the soft outer bark of the tree and rapidly began its ascent; that is, until its claw slipped on a patch of ice I sent down. As the mu landed in a heap at the roots of the tree, I leaped down next to it, morphing the ice into claws once again. It shook itself and launched in my direction. I brought the claws across its side as I dodged its attack. It hit the floor and screamed as ice froze the blood leaking from the gash in its side. Staggering to its feet, it looked at me and hissed a challenge. Then ran forward and clawed at my chest. I rolled to one side and kicked at the creatures face, only catching him a glancing blow but sending him back a foot anyways. I brought my right hand up to bear and forged the other hands ice into pure mana once again. Standing, I flung my left hand out and watched as hundreds of ice needles penetrated the mu's body, launched directly from the ball of energy in my hand, causing it to shriek and convulse on the floor of the forest. Ice froze its purple and white fur and stopped it's shaking. As it lay on the floor, whining and half frozen, I held up my index finger and watched a single icicle form and spin in a slow circle half an inch above it. Pointing at the creatures head, I shot it forward and watched it lance through the mu's skull, ending its life. Blood steamed on the ice until it, too, froze in the morning air. Looking at Vivi, I smiled, nodded, and then collapsed.

________________________________________________________________________

" _The main points for a quick kill are here, here, and here," the misty figure said, pointing at a graph I couldn't read. I mentally stored the knowledge in the back of my mind somehow anyway. The character continued, saying "If you wish to incapacitate one, simply allow the ice shards to land here, or here, depending on where or what you wish to demobilize. The ice will cover the elbow and shoulder enough to keep that arm from moving, so long as they are not too strong. Hitting the knee will effectively stop their advance, allowing you time to either escape or to aim a killing blow."_

I groaned and muttered, "Yea, yea. Temple, heart, and between the eyes. Then knee, elbow and shoulder. Just let me sleep."

"What the hell is he talking about," muttered a voice above me. I tried to respond, but only groaned again. I heard a grunt from above me, and then felt a cool, wet cloth on my forehead. I cracked open my eyes, and saw Zidane above me. He smiled and said, "About damn time! You've been asleep for over an hour! Vivi came into the village to get Dagger, but found me instead. We ran back here, and nursed you as best we could. I sent him back to get Dagger, but he hasn't returned yet. You okay enough to stand?"

I nodded weakly, and he helped me to my feet. The washcloth slid off my head and fell to the floor with a faint _plop! _Zidane was looking around the area. My ice attacks had begun to melt, and the ground was wet and swamp-like.

Whistling, Zidane looked at me and said, "Beat the crap out of the thing, huh?"

He was motioning to the mu. I nodded and smiled, remembering how I controlled the magic. I felt powerful, and knew I would no longer have to rely on Zidane or Steiner to cover for my weakness. Brushing dirt of the knees of his pants, he helped me to my feet and said, "Vivis not back, but I don't think we need Dagger here. Although her presence alone might be nice," he commented, grinning widely.

Chuckling, I followed him out of the woods, into the noon sunlight. I stretched and looked towards the village. We walked back in silence, neither one of us sure what to talk about. As we reached the outskirts of the village, I told Zidane to go ahead and tell Vivi I was alright. I had to go buy some new clothes.

"What are you, a freakin prep," he joked, laughing. I merely grinned and told him I'll be at the inn soon.

I walked into a small hut and was greeted with a cheerful 'hello', from the person behind the desk. It had many miscellaneous items stacked up on it, including some cards, a dagger, half a sandwich, and a large book. Walking up to the desk, I smiled and said, "Hi! I need a new shirt. Do you guys sell them?"

The red head behind the desk brought out a pile from under the desk, and, five gil later, I had a new black shirt with a white trim. As I adjusted the sleeves near my wrists, I walked into the inn and I was slightly surprised to see inn keeper gone. Sneaking behind the desk, I found his purse and relieved him of it. What can I say? Zidanes rubbing off on me! I walked into the bedrooms and saw we were missing two people…Vivi and Steiner. Zidane looked at me and said, "We can't find Vivi."

I opened my mouth, and closed it again. Then, I turned to Dagger and sketched a bow on her direction.

"Please accept my apology as I stick my foot in my mouth," I said, my face grim.


End file.
